Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 1, 2024 / 16:20 pm
Three pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested after disrupting the Saturday evening Easter Vigil Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City as the faithful were celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Protesters entered the cathedral about 45 minutes into the 8 p.m. Vigil Mass, which was celebrated by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, and stood in front of the altar with a large flag that read “silence = death.” Security quickly tried to wrestle the flag from the protesters and eventually forced them away from the altar and toward the exit of the church before police came to arrest them.
As the protesters were being forced out of the cathedral, more protesters who were standing in the pews shouted “free, free Palestine.” Security also forced those protesters out of the church.
New York City police arrested three of the protesters without further incident: 63-year-old John Rozendaal, 35-year-old Gregory Schwedock, and 31-year-old Matthew Menzies. According to police, all three were charged with disrupting a religious service, which is a Class A misdemeanor.